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Thursday, September 26, 2013

EA cancels college football title for 2014 amid ongoing legal disputes, lack of NCAA support

A few months back, EA Sports
announced that the 2014 installment of its wildly popular college
football franchise wouldn't carry the NCAA label after the governing
body chose not to renew its licensing contract. Today, the gaming outfit
has announced that there will not be a campus-packed release... at all.
Admitting that the choice was "profoundly disappointing," GM of
American Football for EA Sports Cam Weber cited lawsuits with
student-athletes over the use of their likeness without compensation as a
cause for the decision. Of course, this is compounded by the NCAA and a
number of conferences (Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 included) no longer
supporting the game. "The ongoing legal issues combined with increased
questions surrounding schools and conferences have left us in a
difficult position – one that challenges our ability to deliver an
authentic sports experience," Weber wrote in a blog post. EA also
pledged a commitment to NCAA Football 14 that's already in consoles of the faithful where, no matter what, Johnny Football is still celebrating the same way.

Update: Moments after EA posted the above news, the
company announced that it and the CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company) had
settled "all claims" with Sam Keller and Ed O'Bannon for using their
names and more. This leaves the NCAA as the remaining defendant in the
lawsuit over use of player likenesses.